Persona 3: A Change of Arms
by Hoshiro Kamui 217
Summary: Minato and Hamuko were left to fend for themselves a broken life when they left the Moonlight Bridge, however there are several differences this time. The Velvet Room summoned them earlier, they're stronger than ever and Death was sealed in both of them; not just one. One can only wonder what will happen with their experience and power at their disposal. (Rewrite of Never To Leave)
1. The Flutter Of The Butterfly's Wings

You know those ordinary nights? Yeah, they happen all the time. You wouldn't even give a second thought about one of these so called 'ordinary nights', and you'd pretty much forget about them in some few weeks. Yeah, there's more waffling. I kinda do this a lot, so don't worry. If you don't like waffling, then be thankful that I'm only talking through these few bits.

This one tale has been retold so many damn times it's almost criminal, but I'm wishing to put a sorta… special spin on all this. Hopefully things don't come off as too familiar. If you know this story, then please sit back and enjoy my commentary over this little bit. For those who know this story better, then watch out for the changes all over this story. It's got its handprints all over it, not joking. Welp, onwards.

But like I said. Ordinary nights.

Let me put it in perspective. It's one of those nights where people are bustling about with their daily lives, the lights are all shining brightly in the city, and if you could look over the area you would be greeted by what was possibly one of the most breath-taking sights. The blinking lights were probably people who were going to sleep or they could be the traffic lights that were keeping everything in order. If you were that observant maybe you could see people going about on some trips such as; your usual dates and going out for dinner. Things like that.

However, when you looked up into the sky you really couldn't see anything in the inky blackness that was the dark of night. The lights from the city would be too bright, which meant you wouldn't be able to see the pin pricks of light that were stars. If you could they were few in number, and very far between.

The drone of car motors were almost a given in any really urban city, and this one was no exception. The vehicles were zipping or… not so zipping along the bridge that led into city. And I say 'not so' because of traffic. But why am I telling you things that you guys probably already know?

Well, there was one particular family, out on an ordinary night that was driving back to their home on the bridge. It was all happy and jolly in the ride. The parents- or more the mum than anyone else since it really would have been dangerous if it was the dad talking -were happily replying to some of the reactions that their two kids had. I mean seriously, he was the person driving. He'd need some concentration, lest they land in a car accident.

But anyways, the kids. One kid was called Minato. The other was called Hamuko. They were probably the cutest buttons that anyone would ever see. Minato was the older brother, and Hamuko was the younger sister. Their ages were separated by a year.

Cliché, but I'm gonna describe them now. Minato had blue hair- dark blue hair mind you -that bordered on black. It was a bit atypical for anyone to have dark blue hair that was actually natural, but it was still kinda slight. Anyways, his hair was set up with bangs, one of them covering his right eye. Only lord knew how he was able to see perfectly with that haircut but, just… rolling with it. Speaking of seeing and eyes, his eyes were actually silver. If you didn't know him well enough, you would probably say he looked really melancholy with that stagnant gaze of his and his hair. Oh, how wrong you are. He was probably the biggest bundle of fun that you could find in a normal eight year old kid. Okay, I'm exaggerating. But he definitely wasn't some depressed kid or any of that crap.

Now, his younger sibling, Hamuko… If Minato was happy, then Hamuko was an explosion of cheeriness. And like a firework, everyone couldn't help but just smile back at her with a smile just as sunny as hers. When you hung out with her, it was pretty much impossible to ever feel sad. She had auburn hair which she normally kept in a ponytail and ruby-like irises that seemed to stare into your soul, as if she knew every secret about you. Not that she did, but it kinda seemed like it.

Anyways, like I said. This story starts right about…

Now.

"Well, my favourite part was probably when… when… um, you know when he was leading her back to the surface and stuff," Minato gushed. "It was so awesome and epic and…"

Minato continued his tirade about how awesome the movie they had just watched was. Every single detail that an eight year old could possibly grasp was commented on, and no stone was left unturned. What was unknown in the vehicle was why both Hamuko and Minato were so happy to have seen that movie. The parents- while they did like it –only liked it. They didn't love those scenes as much as their children.

And if Minato was hysterical over the whole thing, Hamuko was way ahead. She had been furiously agreeing to every single compliment that Minato could ever think of. And there was a whole abundance of the things. People who weren't already used to this (the parents had finally waved it off as a usual thing) probably would have thought that Minato had kept a box with pieces of paper that had on it all the things that he was saying. In that case, the box that he was keeping that paper was probably really big.

"Come on, are you sure you kids shouldn't be getting some sleep? You still do have school tomorrow," their mother, Kizuna Arisato finally chimed in. She might have been patient, but she had been listening to the two of them go on and on from the time that the movie had finished. Which was some thirty minutes ago. If that was how Kizuna felt, people could only wonder how Makoto Arisato was feeling.

Speaking of, Makoto was not a particularly patient man. If he had been allowed the chance, he probably would have told Minato and Hamuko to stop talking and just go to sleep. But despite that, he tried to keep himself a stiff upper lip and his steadily boiling up phrases inside; where they should be. However this was only because he knew that Kizuna would get tired of it sometime as well.

"Aw, but kaa-san…" Minato said with a disheartened tone. He was pretty bright, but still. School wasn't that fun. And to think he had to go to that place six times out of the days of the week. Now that… that was depressing. And with sadness came a wave of sleepiness. Darn! He had wanted to stay up a bit longer and talk about that movie for longer.

Hamuko had an almost disbelieving face when kaa-san said that but she eventually settled down. "Oh…" she sighed, before deciding to lean her head on Minato's shoulder.

"Why is sleep contagious…?" he moaned before leaning his head onto the seat.

Kizuna and Makoto simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief before they kept on driving, also taking note that it was getting really late. In fact, it was just a few minutes before midnight.

Nary a few minutes had passed before Minato and Hamuko began to sleep and Makoto had noticed how late it was. However, this would all be stopped at this one moment.

In what seemed to just be a split second, a sense of dread washed over the Arisato family, time felt like it had stopped her courses, the scent of old iron was stinging their senses and it felt like they were trapped in a place completely different.

"Kaa-san… what's happened?" Minato asked urgently as he was jolted awake by that near suffocating terror and the fact that the car was no longer moving, almost as if he couldn't breathe. He looked around at Hamuko and she seemed to be shivering from the fear that was festering within her innocent heart.

Minato leaned forward in order to get a good look at Kizuna, however to his horror she wasn't there. Both Makoto and Kizuna's forms were replaced by pitch black coffins. "What… what's happening…?" he managed to get out, trying to swallow his trembles back into his throat.

"Otou-san?" Hamuko said weakly, as she too tried to get a good look at Makoto. "Tou-san!?" she shrieked, not understanding how her dad had suddenly been replaced by some huge coffin. "M-Minato-nii… what's happening…?"

"I… I don't know…" he replied, though that only seemed to make Hamuko's expression even more pleading. "But… I'm sure everything will turn back to normal…" he sighed, still biting his lip. Right now, he was in a sense of denial, even though he knew that what he was seeing probably wasn't just some messed up dream. Something was wrong, and everything just seemed so different. He wanted to know what was going on, and somehow turn kaa-san and tou-san back to normal. This was going to turn out alright… Or so he thought. Well, he was hoping for the best. If no-one was going to help them, then he would have to be strong. For Hamuko. Maybe this wouldn't turn out so bad. "It'll be okay," he reassured, putting on a small albeit broken smile.

Hamuko nodded dumbly. At this point, all she could do was trust her onii-san. "I…okay," she finally sighed, opening the door. For some reason, kaa-san and tou-san turned into coffins, and the sounds of motors that had been so familiar had just completely stopped. That's why she felt it would be okay to go out. It was still dangerous, but curiosity and urgency was fuelling their actions right now.

"What happened to the sky…?" Hamuko whimpered, trying to stay close to Minato who was also shaking a little. Only someone who was used to this could possibly stay cool under this foreboding and heavy atmosphere, which Minato and Hamuko were not. "It's all green…"

The sky was a sickening green, much like the same hue that had been cast over the bridge. If there was anything that came to mind when the two siblings saw what had happened to the usual blue and black that made up the colours of their evening for the most part, it was that this time was wholly unnatural. Not in the usual way of things being man-made either. Just… as if it was a mistake. A lurching feeling was lingering in their stomachs as they both looked around through the almost murky air, whether it was from the differing atmosphere or the presence of something else entirely.

"I don't know…" Minato mumbled. "The moon's really big too," he began holding on tight to Hamuko's hand at this point. He might've been the older of the two siblings, but he was just as scared as Hamuko now. The only difference was that he was trying to stay a little stronger for Hamuko. He did his best to anyways.

The moon took up more of the sky than it did before, and it looked pretty much impossible that it was that large. Right before this change had occurred, the moon was just as normal as it ever was: milky white, and probably just about marble-sized from the bridge. But now, that same moon was covered in yellow, almost with age. Not to mention, it was now more of a cloudy crystal ball than a measly marble. It was almost like it was a completely different moon to the one that they knew.

After looking up at the sky they averted their eyes to the ground, especially when Hamuko yelped as she stepped in something wet. "Onii-san… isn't that blood?" she gasped. But she never took a bigger breath than that after she did, not wanting to breathe in the pungent iron-like air. It was almost as if she was trying to avoid taking in a contaminated atmosphere.

Minato gulped. "I… I hope not," he said quietly. He bit his lip and turned to Hamuko, who was quaking. He had felt it before, but it was a lot more apparent now. He couldn't blame her for it either. He was terrified too. But all the same, he squeezed his grip around Hamuko's hand tighter, trying to reassure her further.

Hamuko knew that Minato was trying his best not to show that he was scared. She could feel his slight trembling as well. But just because he was older, she wasn't going to be the typical scared younger sibling either. She tried to calm herself down, and eventually the shaking settled down, ever so slightly. This was mostly because she was trying to tell herself that everything would return to normal after a while. It was working for a little bit, but that reassurance that she had built up for herself had shattered as she felt something absolutely frightening from behind her.

Neither Minato nor Hamuko even had to see whatever was behind them to know that it was there. It had that much of a presence in their minds.

It was only then that Minato dared to ever turn around to see what it was, and once he did… he immediately wanted to start running. Yet, that frightening thing that had just appeared was so overwhelming, that every bit of the two's bodies was frozen stiff. The only things that did keep moving were Minato's gaze and the tightening of his hand around Hamuko's.

A horrifying roar filled the air of the bridge, and from Minato's view he knew that it was this monster, whatever it was. A slight whistling of wind came by Hamuko's ear and she immediately thought that it was strange. The air was completely stagnant before, so she didn't know why there was any kind of breeze now. But one thing was for sure and that was the already lurching fear that was starting to rise up, and the one word that was coming to mind: Run.

That thought immediately made her hand in Minato's grip tighten once more, holding on for what seemed like dear life. However…

A howling screech rang out, and it wasn't because that monster was chasing after the two kids. Thankfully. Coupled along with along with those sounds were the rattles of gun fire from a white figure. It at least sounded like gun fire. Neither of them had heard it for real before, so they weren't that sure. Not as sure as they could be.

Despite the appearance of that mysterious white figure somehow Minato and Hamuko didn't feel much safer, especially since the two were actually getting closer to the two siblings, and it was becoming more dangerous by the second. However, Minato and Hamuko had at least calmed down enough to at least be able to move their legs.

They backed away slowly before they started running as fast as their legs could carry them, even almost tripping a few times. Minato and Hamuko just stopped to support each other whenever that happened.

Unfortunately, they were stopped in their tracks as the two siblings heard a 'crash' in the distance. Once Minato and Hamuko turned their heads to see what had happened, they immediately stopped running altogether.

Their car was in flames, and the monster- the black figure they could see –was right on top of it.

"K-Kaa-san? T-Tou-san…?" Minato managed to say, his eyes widening at the situation. They weren't dead! He couldn't possibly believe that his kaa-san and tou-san were actually dead! Impossible!

He saw that some of the other cars had been trashed before, probably by the fight that was happening between that monster and the white figure however he didn't really care about that anymore.

"M-Minato-nii…" Hamuko said quietly, wrapping him in a hug. She too was in shock, but she thought that the both of them needed some kind of comfort right now, even in the face of death.

The black monster from before rose up from the remains of the Arisatos' car and charged once again towards the white figure that had been firing at it before.

Minato clenched his hand tightly in a fist. Minato had been scared before and he still was, but he just saw that monster take away his and Hamuko's parents. His fist was turning white under the intense force that was building up, even starting to shake with anger. "We… we have to run," he said quietly.

"Where?" Hamuko asked feebly as she released her grip, looking straight into Minato's silver eyes as if she was trying to find some sort of answer within that enigmatic gaze of his. In her brother's eyes.

"Just…" Minato sighed and closed his eyes, dropping to his knees. "…I don't know," he mumbled.

Hamuko bit her lip as her mouth threatened to form a frown. Her onii-san was trying really hard to be strong for him and her, but… being strong was hard by himself. Hamuko looked up from her brother to find something terrifying. "Nii-san! We have to run," she pleaded, dropping down to his level, trying to shake him out of his broken state.

"Huh?" he wondered, but his questions were answered when he saw that black monster charging right towards him and Hamuko. With that, he immediately stood up and grabbed a hold on Hamuko's wrist. Minato did his best to try and tug his little sister along, and Hamuko did her best to keep up with her big brother. Needless to say, it was a difficult task to try and outrun that monster.

Not to mention, that white figure from before was coming after it. It looked from the monster to the children, charging up some of its' SP. Inevitably after running so fast, Hamuko tripped and Minato had to stop. "Hamuko!" he shouted, trying to help her up onto her feet. However, the monster was too close now for them to have enough time to get up and start running again.

Minato looked up at the terrifying monster, fear evidently showing in his silver eyes. Tears were starting to well up at the sides of them, and on instinct and on some dull hope he hugged Hamuko as tight as he could to shield her from it. "Minato-nii!" she cried, trying to push him off.

A white light flashed that obscured Hamuko's vision.

What Minato wasn't expecting was that he didn't feel any pain whatsoever. Only something flowing into him, something cold yet… filled to the brim with power. He opened up his scrunched up eyes and turned around to find that the monster was gone. He breathed out a sigh of relief when he also took a good long look at Hamuko. She wasn't hurt at all.

Hamuko was also surprised to see that the monster was gone and her onii-san was alright. There was one thing that that was different though. She too felt this strange power flowing within her, but it was warm; almost unbearably so. That didn't change the fact however, that this strange strength that she could feel was there.

"Y-You're safe," Minato laughed a little, though he was actually hugging Hamuko tighter than ever. "We're safe…" he whispered, finally letting go of Hamuko.

"Yeah…" Hamuko managed to say. She had half a mind to say how much of an idiot he was for putting himself in danger like that, but she held it back. For now, she was just all too glad that everything was alright.

Minato sighed and stood up, helping Hamuko in the process. He gazed around the road on the bridge. Almost every car that was on this road before was destroyed, on fire and in pieces. Minato gritted his teeth and led Hamuko over to their car. If nothing else, it was a little safer.

"What would Orpheus do?" he said to himself quietly as he took in the bleak situation. "What would he do…?"

All the while, Hamuko was looking in through the car windows, desperately hoping that there was something that could be salvaged of their parents. She couldn't see much of what was inside, but she could see the mangled remains of what appeared to be the coffins that their parents were placed in. There really wasn't anything either of them could do…

"So… what are we going to do? What do you want to do?" Hamuko asked Minato with a quiet voice.

"I… I want to get stronger," Minato replied simply, clenching his fist tightly. Hamuko looked to him with a curious expression, silently asking him for the 'why' behind that motivation. "Because…" he wrapped his arms around Hamuko in a hug, though it wasn't as tight as the other ones that he gave her. "I don't want to lose anyone else," Minato finally said.

Hamuko understood the meaning behind the words that Minato had just said, silently and yet so obviously, referring to her and her only. "…I don't want to lose you either," she replied quietly.

"…Yeah," Minato said, a slight smile on his face. If there was anything to have come out of this situation, it was that they were still both alive.

At that exact moment, the night sky had returned to normal and instead of the blood-like smell that filled that strange time, Minato and Hamuko could more clearly smell gasoline and burning metal. It wasn't much of a better smell than before, but at least… the air wasn't silent anymore.

* * *

**AN: ...Goddammit I thought I wasn't going to upload this, but I what did I do? I did anyways. Wonderful... Anyways, THIS is my rewrite of NTL. Don't go read it, since you don't need to. Probably better just to stick with this story, because there are plenty of changes to my first. Many. Changes. Including abolishing pretty much ALL OCs. I'd rather die than include any. Well, at least... no self inserts or anything.**

**I have to write this whole freaking story from SCRATCH. Sometimes, I wonder what I'm doing with my life.**

**Well, for those who liked NTL... you'll like this even better. Call this... CoA. And this time, I swear, I'm going to stick with my pairings.**

**Pairings are LOCKED for Minato X Mitsuru and Hamuko X Shinjiro. Have a complaint? Raise your hand in the review section. I know, people have been saying this a lot... but reviews are like Somas for us writers.**

**Another good thing. I've got this planned out, so not as much writer's block as there could be. There are going to be MANY ties to mythology like the last time, however, this time... it won't be so haphazard. Expect there to be many threats coming after the Arisato siblings because there's going to be chaos, chaos, and Chaos. Hah.**

**Well, sayoonara for now. I have Nanowrimo to work on.**


	2. First Movement

What do you do?

That was the question both siblings were asking each other. All in one night, they had one of the highest highs, and the lowest of all lows that the two of them had ever experienced. They had both just lost the closest family besides each other that they had.

Simply put, they were lost. So lost, not within the city that they roamed. But lost in themselves. Everything just seemed lost.

Nothing. Nothing mattered, except each other.

When they were sent to the orphanage to wait on their other relatives; their lesser known ones that even the two of them didn't even know about, the only things that they were discussing, if you could call it that, were the movie that they watched the night before and their parents.

"Kaa-san… can I play the guitar?" Minato mumbled, staring absent-mindedly around the room.

"M-Minato, kaa-san's gone," Hamuko said sadly and tugged on his shirt, trying to snap him out of his daze.

"Gone where? I guess I'll just have to ask tou-san then," Minato sighed as he stared out the window.

Hamuko again tugged on his shirt, almost trying to force herself to say the words, 'tou-san's gone too.' But she couldn't. As strong as she was trying to be, even she had her limits. And when her only pillar of strength left was just being battered around in the passing winds without a second thought, lost in a stream of memories… she wasn't sure what she could do anymore.

"But… t-tou-san…" Hamuko was coming close to tears. If it wasn't that neither of them could let go that was making her sad, it was the fact that she had to watch her brother tumble and fall into an abyss of insecurity and memories that even he, of all people, didn't want to get out of. He, the other bright light in the family that kept things lively, and made half of their best memories happen; even he couldn't start dealing with his parents' death right now.

"What about tou-san…?" Minato asked quietly as he held his hands up, almost as if he was playing an imaginary guitar, his fingers nimbly moving along to a non-existent beat.

Hamuko could recognise the tune that he was playing, and she could hear it in her own ears. It wasn't even playing, but that just reiterated how well she knew the song. It was one that her brother made up. He played it… a lot. And she couldn't blame him; the song sounded amazing, even if all it had at that time was guitar and his now hollow voice.

Hamuko could hear Minato humming along the melody, and she could imagine the words. But right then, at that moment… it sounded horrible. The words that Hamuko started imagining were so… empty. Minato's voice was so ghostly, and so… devoid of any kind of feelings that usually made his voice so rich.

They were dead. And that made her shiver.

"Minato, don't you remember!?" Hamuko pleaded, looking into his silver eyes. She almost recoiled once she saw that look in his eyes. Usually, when she looked into his eyes, there would be a glint, a kind of light that never left him when he was happy, but now… they just seemed stony cold. All it seemed like was that things were happening around him, but he didn't see them. All he could see were the things that he tried to remember; the false illusions that were scattered and flitted about his vision. The illusions that he could see of his parents.

"They're dead! Don't you remember!?"

…crack.

"No! It's not true!" Minato shouted.

Silence permeated the room, and Hamuko stared back at Minato blankly.

Minato tried to catch his breath, but when he finally looked up again, he realized what he had just done. He was in complete and utter denial. Minato bit his lip and lowered his head in shame. "Hamuko, I… I'm sorry…"

Hamuko nodded and leapt right into Minato's grip, hugging him tightly.

"Just don't leave me… I don't want you to leave me…"

Minato's eyes widened, but steadily he became used to her grip and hugged back. He knew what she meant this time. She didn't mean in the way that she didn't want him to die like all the others; of course she wouldn't want that. No, she couldn't want that at all. That was impossible. No, she was talking about him getting lost in the past. She didn't want a brother that was constantly stuck in his own memories. The brother that Hamuko wanted… no, needed; was one that would stay with her in the present, no matter what happened, and through thick and thin.

"I know… I…" Minato mumbled, feeling Hamuko's tears seep through his shirt. "I'm really sorry…"

The two stayed in relative quiet for what seemed to be the longest time, and by the time night fell, the both of them there completely silent. Even through the time that the two spent in hush, both Hamuko and Minato kept on wishing that they would trade just about everything that they had for even one of their parents back. Children simply weren't meant to be left alone like they were.

They were still wishing that they could see kaa-san's soft smile again, and to hear their dad's words of encouragement whenever they did something right. They needed their parents, and they weren't there. Only the gods knew how the two siblings were able to keep themselves from cracking; at least, more than they already had.

Whenever someone came to check on them, they were together, and they almost completely ignored that someone when they tried to talk to them.

That person wasn't one of their parents.

They didn't want a replacement.

They just wanted them back.

All they had was each other now, and it was a lonely existence. For a few days, it was just the two of them, the two little siblings in a huge and cruel world, and they were trying to do their best not to drown in a sea of despair.

Whenever any of the other kids tried to talk to them even a little bit, the lights in their eyes simply faded, and that scared them. It scared a lot of them. Only two weren't scared.

"Hey, don't they look just like us?" one of them asked the other.

"They kinda do," the other one grumbled.

They never really approached the two silent siblings. They too had seen that look in each other's eyes; it was that while after Miki had died. Akihiko was her older brother, and Shinjiro his best friend.

They knew better than anyone that the most that what the siblings wanted was to be left alone. After a while, they knew that they would bounce back, even if it took the longest amount of days.

It had been a few days already.

"You know… we've been moping for a long while, and all the other kids have been ignoring us," Minato spoke softly to Hamuko. In contrast to how bouncy he was before, he was now more reserved and definitely quieter than he had been before. It was surprising for Hamuko, but she was getting used to it.

"You know, you're right!" Hamuko exclaimed, her eyes finally gaining a bright glint. It was the playful one that she usually had; the one that she had before.

When Minato saw that, he couldn't help but follow suit. "So, wanna go see if anyone will play with us?" he asked with a smile.

There was something still different about how Minato talked though. He was acting more of an older brother than he did before. Before, everyone would have guessed that Hamuko and Minato were actually the same ages. Even though they were actually separated in age by a year. That was how cheerful Minato could be.

"Yeah! Let's go!" Hamuko grabbed Minato's hands and ran out to the yard, passing by several… surprised gazes from other orphans in the halls.

Hamuko didn't seem to be looking where she was looking however, and it was inevitable that sometime… she would bump into someone.

"Ow, watch where you're going…"

A gruff voice said.

Hamuko looked up and saw a certain duo of boys.

"Oh Minato-nii, aren't they the stalker people?"

Minato's eyes widened before he exclaimed, "What do you mean by that!?" He honestly hadn't noticed anyone looking at them before, because… well, everyone seemed to stay away from them. They were kinda scary when they were depressed. "You don't just go around calling some people 'stalker people!" he yelled, his eyebrow twitching as he let go of Hamuko's hand.

"…did she really just call us…?" Shinjiro muttered to Akihiko.

"Stalker people…?" Akihiko finished, also having the same bewildered expression as before. While he was still dense as all heck when it came to some emotions around people, even he knew when a situation was really, really awkward.

Shinjiro looked at Akihiko, and Akihiko looked at Shinjiro.

"Sorry, it's just that… Hamuko gets excited really easily," Minato tried to apologize, but before he could say anymore words…

Shinjiro and Akihiko broke into fits of laughter.

"H-Huh?" Minato stuttered, looking at Hamuko who merely looked as innocent as ever. In fact… she was smiling. It was just about the most mischievous smile that Minato had seen on her before. Then it finally clicked. She totally did it on purpose.

"You're funny," Shinjiro laughed, ruffling her hair.

Which she took offense to.

"Ooh, stop doing that!" Hamuko puffed her cheeks with an indignant expression. But… that only made Shinjiro more amused as he ruffled her hair. "You're messing up my hair!" she complained.

Eventually, she managed to shake Shinjiro off and 'hmphed' in frustration. "Meanie, you didn't stop!" she puffed her cheeks again. It seemed to be something of a habit. She puffed her cheeks up whenever she was irritated at someone. But unfortunately, that kind of action; the one that some animals used to scare off predators with their larger size and puffed up cheeks only served to make Hamuko more adorable. Not the best strategy.

Shinjiro merely chuckled at that. "She's funny," he laughed.

"Oh really?" Akihiko asked.

"Yeah, apparently Hamuko and I were raising hell after mum and dad complimented the two of us," Minato laughed nervously as he related to Akihiko the first time that Minato used a guitar and Hamuko a keyboard.

"Wow, you guys sound really tight together," Akihiko grinned.

"Don't you ignore me too you punk!" Shinjiro growled, confronting Akihiko once again; like he did yesterday. He was about to throw a punch at Akihiko, but Akihiko managed to dodge out of the way.

"Not again Shinji!" Akihiko panicked. The one time that he wasn't expecting Shinjiro's strikes, well… let's just say he didn't feel anything more after the world turned black on him.

"Don't ignore me again then!" Shinjiro growled.

"Geez! You guys fight like a married couple or something!" Hamuko laughed as she pushed between the two of them as Shinjiro tried to hold a staring contest with Akihiko. "Any closer and something bad might happen!"

Meanwhile, Minato was wondering how the heck she knew all the things that she was saying. Or maybe… she already knew about all these kinds of things but she didn't tell him about them! He decided that he would try to get Hamuko back later when he had the opportunity.

"S-Something bad?" Akihiko asked her with a questioning expression. Shinjiro… he was blushing furiously.

"You dense little…!" Shinjiro muttered.

"Hey, swearing free zone!" Minato shouted.

Shinjiro looked to Minato, then to Akihiko, and lastly… at Hamuko. "Tch, fine…" he muttered.

"Anyways, you're really dense, you know that Aki?" Shinjiro sighed, slapping him on the back. It was something that he did often, and because of that, Akihiko had to develop something of immunity to being pushed over. Otherwise, he would've been flat on his face on the floor a lot more than he would've liked to. Shinjiro was strong.

Akihiko looked towards Shinjiro with something of a deadpan before shrugging. "Told ya," Shinjiro muttered, the comment more directed towards Minato and Hamuko than Akihiko.

"…I can tell," Minato sighed.

"…even I can!" Hamuko cheered.

Akihiko looked dumbstruck before saying, "Now I feel really bad."

"You should," Shinjiro grumbled.

The rest of the day was spent talking to Shinjiro and Akihiko for the Arisato siblings. Needless to say, they had a lot of fun discussing how close they were together.

However, Hamuko and Minato's fun was cut short as a caretaker announced that their relatives were there to pick them up.

"Aw, but… Shinji and Aki are really fun to hang out with," Minato complained.

"I know! They're really funny! I still think they're like a married couple though!" Hamuko said proudly.

After some explaining, Minato and Hamuko finally met up with their relatives. Thankfully for the two of them, they were at least kind and it didn't seem that they would have a hard time fitting in with their… admittedly small family. At least, that was what it seemed like.

"So, do you think we might see you guys again?" Minato asked Akihiko and Shinjiro.

"…we might," Akihiko replied with a shrug.

"Who knows? But we can only see, right?" Shinjiro laughed, casting a knowing look towards Minato and Hamuko.

"Right," Minato nodded, fist-bumping both Shinjiro and Akihiko, one at a time. It was hard not to get knocked over by Shinjiro when they finally bumped.

"Yup! We'll be like a happy family, with Shinji-kun and Aki-kun as the mother and father," Hamuko said with a sing song voice, holding her hands and fingers together in a heart-like shape. She seemed to know exactly how to set both of them off. If Akihiko didn't react, Shinjiro would, they would almost start to fight, Minato would intervene, they'd both look ashamed, and they'd obey her commands.

…Hamuko was a lot smarter than people gave her credit for.

Shinjiro had just about half a mind to growl back that it wasn't true, but he stopped himself. He'd get her back for what she teased the two of them about later.

"…right," Shinjiro said sarcastically.

"Yeah. Now get out of here, before they leave without you," Akihiko joked, pushing Minato and Hamuko out the gates.

"Hope we'll see you both again Aki, Shinji!" Minato and Hamuko said in unison.

Without another word, the two skipped to their newer family, into an unfamiliar world; the one world where there would be nothing but mysteries, strength, and no-one else but Minato and Hamuko. It was just the two of them, against the cruel and harsh world again.

* * *

**AN: Just another chapter to get this story moving in a little more direction. And even though I had planned this all out, once again I deviate from my plan. But I have a good feeling about this change, and NO-ONE will know what I just did... Hahaha...**

**Anyways, thoughts, reviews, box, write. I think you guys know what to do.**

**Welp, sayoonara for now, I... I have Days of Darkness to light up. (yeah, I just went there.)**

**And now, replies.**

**Nights: Good, because scene and feelz whiplash will be everywhere. It'll probably hurt!  
He surely does, but Hamuko's definitely going to be playing a bigger part in this than the last time.  
Yeah, I think I put people off with the *other* pairing quickly. Ah well.  
Yeah, shorter chapters equals to faster updates most of the time. Hehe.**

**final cross 5: Good. Glad to hear it. **

**Kronos: I know, I know, no pairing is for everyone. Could be crazier though. Aaanyways, since you're here, you might as well get ready with the Makarakarns because there are going to be lots of new twists. Hope you stick around for them.**

**A Guy Without A Good Name: Haha, already replied to you. But do me a favour bud, I don't want to write your whole name every time I might reply to a review of yours if you're going to review more. Nickname please before I tear my hair out.**

**Raidou: Oh man, watch. Just watch and let the movies fly by, because there are gonna be lots of changes, I can guarantee that. Including... things that you simply will not expect, especially if you haven't read the original. (I hope you don't) I'm getting hyped for more chapters already!**

**Guest: True. Though, the reasons I like Mitsuru and Minato is different... I think we can all agree that Yukari is indeed a hard character to work with.**


	3. Ichor Stains

Minato stared emotionlessly out the train window, his earphones clipped on and anger inside his soul burning, and simmering, ever so slowly under the surface. He was back to that city where he lost almost… everything. The night time around the island city told him that the evenings there were the same as ever. But as he thought about it, he slowly, but surely, began to feel angry. Fucking Iwatodai huh?

He smirked inwardly as he gathered a small amount of energy into his palm, little droplets of spiritual power, or SP for short, swirling around his hand until it formed a hazy blue aura around it. Minato didn't dare release it however. It wouldn't do well to start a fire in the very train they were riding, right?

Hamuko was merely thinking about the past few years. The ten years that they had spent fighting and just managing to scrape along were taxing to be sure. But now that they had come back to Iwatodai with a whole different disposition towards Shadows and… actually, just people in general, they were different for sure.

Minato and Hamuko had grown stronger; almost impossibly so compared to any other normal human. They were even stronger than the Velvet Siblings combined. And that was not only because of their individual endeavours in their harsh training, but because Minato and Hamuko were a team; a solid, cohesive unit that moved flawlessly and cut down Shadows like they were nothing.

"Minato, why are you practicing harnessing your energy in the real world as well…" Hamuko asked, seeing that he was starting to get further into doing that kind of action. Using their powers in the real world simply wasn't as easy as it was in that Blood Hour, as they had dubbed it. Stupid name, but that was only because they were going off what they knew; there were puddles on the ground which they had found out that it was indeed blood, or at least diluted with it. She knew because of something that happened to Minato when he fought against a group of Shadows. They had used it to their advantage ever since.

It went something like…

Hamuko and Minato were running once again, swords in hand. "Minato, stop cussing at the Shadows and actually do something! They're getting closer!" Hamuko deadpanned at her brother as they ran through the blood covered town.

"Since you asked… I'm gonna fucking obliterate these pieces of shit!" Minato roared as blue mist erupted around his feet and eventually from the comprising mist, the fairy Jack Frost appeared. "Bufudyne their asses!" he shouted with a grin.

As if obliging, the small Fairy created pillars of ice around the Shadows, all with a playful grin as cold frost encrusted the sidewalk. One or two of the Mayas was pierced through mercilessly by the rising icicles, but there were still a lot left.

"Shit! Grah, when's Jack Frost going to learn Mabufudyne!? I swear!" Minato growled.

"Just be patient. For now…" Hamuko sighed. She looked around the corner to see if there was any efficient way for the two of them to take out the Shadows. Hamuko looked down at the ground, seeing the puddles of blood getting frozen over by Jack Frost's Bufudyne spell.

"Minato! Aim the Bufudyne at the puddles! They're stretching out everywhere so maybe we can get them all with one solid shot!" Hamuko exclaimed as she realized what they could do. In times of need, Hamuko was extremely resourceful. She might've been just as powerful as Minato, but unlike her brother who liked to use his power to outright pulverise the Shadows in front of him, mostly out of anger… she had a bit of a clearer mind in order to use their powers efficiently to take out the Shadows.

"You got it," Minato smirked as he pointed his finger to the puddles. A frigid blue energy started to gather at that point, and… "Mabufula!" he called, the blue energy shooting towards the red puddles.

Within a few moments, red icicles formed from the stretch of liquid, and the Shadows were frozen over almost effortlessly. Minato looked almost surprised, but at the same time, he knew that Hamuko could think of things like that to be more efficient with SP.

"Anyways… Mazionga," Hamuko called as tendrils of white blue electricity made from SP tangled and coiled around her finger. The ice and the metallic elements in the red icicles conducted the electricity, zapping the Shadows out of existence as they were trapped within the blocks of ice.

"Wow… that was really effective. That's a new strategy that we can use," Hamuko cheered. "If there are lots of puddles of… You know, what the heck is that ice made of?"

"I dunno," Minato shrugged before he knocked on the icicles. They weren't melting. His eye twitched when his knuckle knocked against the hard ice. "Ow…" he muttered. "Stuff's pretty hard."

"Isn't all ice hard? Anyways, I think we're done here," Hamuko sighed. "Looks like the red icicles conduct electricity really well."

"I think it's because there are more things that can conduct it in the water… if it's water," Minato said, finally calming down. "I really think it's blood actually."

"I think so too… kinda smells like it too…" Hamuko cringed.

Minato looked over at Hamuko before patting her on the shoulder. "Well… it's not really something we'll have to worry about. Unless we become doctors at a later age or something," he said nonchalantly, trying to lighten up Hamuko's mood a bit.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Hamuko replied.

"When am I not?" Minato smirked, earning himself a soft punch on the shoulder.

"When you cuss at the Shadows. Now let's get going before we get chased again!" Hamuko laughed.

Pulling out of her thoughts, Hamuko looked up as she heard the PA system announce that they were getting closer to their next stop. "You never know what amount of practice we can get here," Minato replied to Hamuko's earlier question. "But… we should get going. I'm not looking forward to going up another hour just because we missed one stop that we actually needed to get off of."

"Yeah, me neither. I don't wanna get you to teleport us here again…" Hamuko sighed.

"I doubt it would work. I don't know what the place looks like anymore," Minato replied with a scowl.

"Well damn," Hamuko muttered before picking up her MP3 player and changing the music that was playing in her ears.

Minato chuckled, ruffling her hair. Hamuko paid it no mind, and kept on looking out the window doors. "You don't mind anymore? I thought you didn't like getting your hair ruffled," Minato smiled a little as the train began to pull in.

"…you do it too often for me to care anymore," Hamuko muttered under her breath.

"Aw, have I worn out Shinjiro-kun's habit now already?" he laughed. Over the years, Minato kept ruffling Hamuko's hair ever since Shinjiro had done it at the orphanage. It soon formed into a habit, and something that Hamuko had to tolerate a lot more often then she would've liked.

"Don't. Call. Him. Shinji-kun," she growled. Of course, she just realized what she said.

"Aw why? Do you like him?" Minato asked with a sing-song voice.

Hamuko glared at her brother before punching him on the shoulder, not so softly this time. Thankfully, Minato switched to Kohryu in time and he didn't feel anything that time. The habit that Hamuko had of punching him on the shoulder when he was being annoying was something that he had grown used to, and now actually had the timing to block off any pain that could be caused by Hamuko's hard punches.

…last time he didn't block he fell down a set of stairs. Not enjoyable.

"No. He's a good friend who I hope remembers us," Hamuko huffed in irritation.

Minato smiled as he thought about it. He liked both Akihiko and Shinjiro; they were very funny, and they seemed like very tight knit friends that could stick together through thick and thin. "I hope so too," Minato said with a soft smile.

Hamuko blinked once or twice at Minato, and if she was drinking something, she probably would've done a spit take. She hadn't seen her more callous, yet sarcastically funny brother smile like that in a long time. The closest that she had seen for a while was a smirk, and that could barely be called a smile at all, especially with the accompanied crazed glare of his.

No, the smile on his face was an actually friendly smile, and one that she sorely missed. "You should smile like that more often," Hamuko laughed. "You look better with it."

Minato threw a questioning look at her before his lips turned up once more into a small smile. "I'll try," he said with a sad tone.

"Come on, I know you can," Hamuko laughed, patting Minato on the shoulder.

Before long, the train doors opened and the two siblings were able to take their first steps in about ten years to Iwatodai. "So, I guess it'll strike about at about midnight this time?" Minato mumbled as he looked at his watch and then up again at the train clock. He quietly took out his ticket, and Hamuko did the same.

"Yeah… I think so," Hamuko replied. "Not completely sure, but yeah."

It was something that the two of them had figured out when they were going to Japan first. On the plane.

While the two of them were on the plane, the Blood Hour actually struck. The moon was higher in the sky, so they couldn't see it, so the interior of the plane was pitch black, even though the outside in the sky was as green as Minato and Hamuko could remember that it was.

"Minato… it's happening again, even though we're in the air," Hamuko whispered to him, a small amount of fog coming from her mouth as she spoke. Up high in the air, regardless of the fact that it was a bit muggier and warmer during the Blood Hour, it was still very cold at higher altitudes.

"I guess it's because we're in a different place," he mumbled, his warm breath condensing.

"It's really cold as well since the air conditioning is off," she managed to say through clattering teeth. During the Blood Hour, no electronic equipment was active.

"Yeah…" Minato replied absentmindedly as he pulled on his jacket and gave the rest of the blanket that was warming him up partly, to Hamuko.

"Stay closer…?" she said quietly, pulling up the armrest between the two of them. Minato looked over at Hamuko near emotionlessly before he nodded. Hamuko hugged him tightly once he obliged.

When it was said that the two of them were inseparably close, it was surely no exaggeration. Any moment that they could spend together, they would spend to the best of their ability, just the two of them. It was probably out of a sense of insecurity; that long lasting worry that one day, they might not be able to protect each other and they couldn't be together for that long, and that one day the other could go was too early for the both of them to ever be ready for a moment like that.

They knew, wordlessly, after years of depending on each other, not even their newer parents, that if either of them disappeared from each other's life… they would be emotionally broken beyond repair. They wouldn't only have to live with the guilt; they would also have to live out their rest of their lives without the other in their life. Up until then, and up until their present time, that simply wasn't an option for any of them.

Their bond went as far to say that if one of them was left alive, the last would take his or her life without any remorse just to be with them again.

If Hamuko died, Minato would gladly end himself, and if Minato died, Hamuko would do the same. Not even one extremely strong pillar could support a structure without the other; without that other, they would all collapse; no question.

By the end of the hour, the two of them were both sound asleep in each other's grips, and by the time that the electronics turned on once again and the people around them were turned back to normal, it was still only the beginning of the hour before the Blood Hour reappeared once more.

"Well… we'll just have to see, right?" Minato asked absentmindedly.

"Yeah, I guess so," Hamuko sighed.

Three.

Two.

One.

On that exact moment, the Blood Hour fell again. The oh so familiar dread of the beginning of the Blood Hour overtook the siblings, and they once again grew ready with their SP, now better fuelling and flowing through their bodies again.

"Huh, it happened at pretty much, right at midnight," Minato commented as he looked around. "Well, looks like we're getting some extra sleep," he chuckled as they kept walking out of the station and out to the dormitory they were going to be staying at temporarily before they were going to be transferred to their respective dorms; which was a disappointment to be sure, since they would've felt much better having each other closer together, but they could live with it for two years.

"Yeah, I can always go for some extra sleep," Hamuko yawned. "I wonder how bad the jet lag's gonna be? I doubt it would be that bad, but I still don't like it. I'd be like two hours behind everyone else," she sighed.

"Our patterns were messed up anyways," Minato shrugged it off.

Hamuko sighed at that. They slept a bit irregularly because of the Blood Hour and because they both went somewhere a lot that seemingly slowed down time in there like it was nothing.

The two of them were still walking towards the dorm at the time, but that was before they sensed some Shadows around them. There were more than they two had encountered before in the city that they lived in. "Why are there more Shadows?" he asked absentmindedly as they started moving to avoid any attacks from the Shadows. They definitely weren't looking for a fight.

"I have no idea… but I'd rather keep moving and get to the dorm quicker," Hamuko sighed. "We can figure it out later when we aren't so tired out."

Minato nodded at that before they moved once more. He looked around at the coffins that were left around the streets. They were tall, dark and scary as usual. Minato briefly wondered about how sturdy they were before he shrugged the thought off. If he stood on top of a coffin, he had no idea what would happen with how much older he was now, and with that age, his weight.

The moon was larger than usual, seemingly yellowed with age. It was like they imagined it would be, but it was much bigger than how the moon had been before. Back in Australia, the moon was like just a little marble. In Iwatodai it was kinda like a soccer ball instead.

The last difference that they noticed about the Blood Hour in Iwatodai was that there was a lot more bloody puddles, meaning that the stench was even stronger than before; it also meant that it was more sickening than before.

Scraping off the blood that had accumulated at the bottom of their shoes at the steps that led into the dorm, Hamuko opened the door.

Inside, they found…

"Pharos, what are you doing here little guy?" Minato asked curiously. Pharos looked up with an almost indignant expression and laughed. He was dressed in prison-like pyjamas, black and white stripes and all. He had raven black hair, and lastly… strikingly cyan blue eyes.

"I was just waiting for both of you to arrive. You both came fairly late," Pharos folded his arms.

"Aw, sorry Pharos… It's just that the trains were delayed so we couldn't get here fast enough," Hamuko smiled apologetically, patting him on the head.

Pharos deadpanned at Hamuko before saying, "I know, I know. I'm always with you two, remember?"

"Of course," Minato answered with a bit of a smirk.

Pharos nodded before fading out of Hamuko's grasp and started floating above Minato, almost looking as his he was trying to hitch a piggyback ride. "You're lucky you're light, you know that?" Minato grumbled.

"Yes, and I am glad that you will not throw me off your back like you would a bag," Pharos chuckled a little. Hamuko giggled about it for a little bit before a voice caught her off guard.

"Who's there!?" the voice shouted.

On the staircase that led further up into the latter levels of the dorm, there was a figure; a girl.

Minato was instantly on guard and moved into a subtle stance, Pharos still nonchalantly sitting on his shoulders. Even though he could feel that this girl's strength was little, it was something of an instinct to react to signatures. And that meant getting into a battle stance.

Hamuko saw the girl pull out something, something like a shining gun from a holster but before she could point it at the two of them a commanding voice called out, "Takeba, wait!"

The girl on the stairs flinched and looked around, meeting the gaze of another girl.

At that exact moment, the Blood Hour had lifted and the once dense atmosphere disappeared. Minato could finally clearly see the two girls in front. He could admit that the two of them were very attractive, but he wasn't so much focused on their appearance as he was their intentions.

The first girl that they had seen had shoulder length, light brown hair, fair skin and mocha brown eyes. She was dressed in a pink jacket with a red ribbon around her collar and black skirt, presumably the uniform that Hamuko was going to be wearing. Her black socks were above knee-length and she wore some brown loafers.

The second, and seemingly, the older of the two, had red wine hair and equally red eyes. Her skin was akin to snow in complexion. She wore a white blouse and a red ribbon around her neck with a black skirt just like the other's skirt. Instead of shoes and socks however, she opted for a pair of knee length boots.

Within a moment of tension, Minato's impressions had been made. The brunette seemed to be a scaredy cat while the other seemed too pretty for her own good, and a very authoritative person.

"I didn't think the two of you would arrive so late. My name is Mitsuru Kirijo, and this is Yukari Takeba. She's a junior this spring, just like you," the redhead introduced herself and the junior.

The concept of starting this late in the year for school was something foreign to both Minato and Hamuko now, since the school year back where they lived started at about February and ended in December. Their major holidays were also in the summer, but since the summer in Japan came at a different time… lucky them, they had two major school holidays in a row.

Before Minato was about to shoot his mouth off at the fact that this Yukari girl had a gun, Hamuko shot a deadly glare at him telling him to shut up. Because she knew that when he was angry… he could say some pretty vulgar words. "I see! I'm Hamuko Arisato, and this is Minato, my older brother!" she smiled at Yukari and Mitsuru, seemingly assuring the former.

"Oh… nice to meet you," Yukari smiled slightly.

Minato seemed to be about to say something about why she had a gun again, but Hamuko glared at him once more, making him 'hmph' in frustration. Pharos chuckled a little at Minato's misfortune. After watching them for so long, he found it quite amusing to watch their little spats about something, especially when it came to rudeness.

In recent years, Minato had become more callous because of the way that he dealt with Shadow threats. He left them no mercy and wouldn't hesitate to jump on any opportunities that the 'little fuckers' left open. It also transferred over to when he interacted with other people, especially when they had put Hamuko or him in potential danger.

Put it simply, he was being overprotective again.

"Now, it's getting late. I think it would be best if we all acquired some rest. We still have school to attend tomorrow," Mitsuru said sternly before glancing at Yukari. "Could you lead these two up to their rooms?"

"Uh, right!" Yukari nodded. "Let's go! Follow me," she said.

Minato (begrudgingly) and Hamuko followed Yukari up the stairs and up to each of the floors, first stopping at the end of the hall at the boys' floor.

"Well, this is your room," Yukari gestured to Minato who nodded emotionlessly as ever, because he couldn't let out his anger. If he did, Hamuko would probably get him for that with a good Thunder Reign and that wasn't something that was looking forward to. "Pretty easy to remember, since it's right at the end of the hall. Make sure you don't lose your keys, you'll never hear the end of it if you do."

Minato nodded at that, not saying a word. He was trying not to say anything that could potentially land himself in a lot of trouble.

Yukari had a bit of a questioning look before she said, "Um, on the way here… was everything alright?"

Minato glanced at her with a scrutinizing glare. So, they were aware of the Blood Hour were they? "…everything was fine," he said quietly, trying to keep any animosity out of his voice. Whenever he talked to anyone besides Hamuko, he sounded… less than inviting.

"Um, okay," Yukari replied after a few moments.

Minato nodded slightly before smiling slightly at Hamuko. "See ya tomorrow," he said with a bit of a happier tone before he entered his room.

Yukari turned to Hamuko with a perplexed expression. "Is he always like that?" she asked.

"Yeah… he's naturally anti-social," Hamuko sighed. "Not really, but yeah… he doesn't like talking because unless he's talking to me, he sounds like a total douche or just really scary," she elaborated, scratching the back of her head.

"Oh. Has he gotten that checked out yet?" Yukari flinched.

"Nope. Isn't really his fault, but… I wish that he could say something without coming off really scary," Hamuko folded her arms. "Well now, is the girls' section upstairs?"

"Oh yeah. You're at the end of the hall too," Yukari smiled. "So this might be weird but… did you see anything weird on your way here?" she asked a bit more casual than before.

"Nope, not at all. It was pretty normal. Any reason why?" Hamuko smiled cheerfully.

"Nah, just making sure," Yukari waved it off. "Well, let's go up, huh?"

"Yup!" Hamuko replied.

* * *

**AN: Hi, I'm back again... This was a good chapter to write. I wrote it all in one day, yay me. (even if I feel I rushed the end of this chapter a bit...) Anyways, box down below; Reviews please, with thoughts or criticism plz?**

**Imma see ya guys later.**

**Nights: Yeah. More will be delved into what they were doing back in Australia, because every other epic Minato I know is English. *cough* Fairly English Story *cough*  
Of course. When is she never cute?  
I know, I want to get to them too, believe me.  
Thanks, hope you like this one too.**

**Raidou: Ah, interference will be everywhere, I assure you. Both mythical and not so mythical. Cool! I can't wait to get to next chapter either!**

**Kronos: Haha, well... this isn't just about Minato anymore. Hamuko's just as important this time. But any of those moments will be coming... later. Because I loooove creating drama.  
Yeah, relationships will be important and seeing the effects of that relationship and certain traits about characters will become more important as time goes on.**

**Irie: Yes. Like the pairing? Death and Chaos Rebuild's got the same pairing~**


	4. Velvet, Oh Velvet

Everything in their world had shattered, just about completely. It was a sobering thought to say the least of it all. But what was worse was that without anyone else to really talk to besides their new parents, Minato and Hamuko seemed to be worse off than ever. At least before, they had someone to talk to who knew the same pains as them. Not this time though.

Minato stared out the open window to the moon, musing that it was the same moon that they saw back in Iwatodai. He shook his head however. Forget about Iwatodai. Iwatodai isn't their home. It can't be their home anymore. Their home could not be the same place where they lost everything. Impossible.

"Minato…" Hamuko mumbled. "Aren't you going to get some sleep?"

Minato stayed quiet for a while before turning back to Hamuko with a near emotionless expression. "Yeah, I will," he replied. "Just wanna stay up a bit longer," Minato sighed. Many questions were swirling around his head; some very desperate questions; desperate questions in the way that he so desperately wanted an answer to… all of them, really.

But he knew that they couldn't be answered. Probably never would be answered. No-one could possibly answer where their parents went. He knew they died, but where did they go? No-one could answer the question of whether they weren't all going to die too sooner rather than later. He wasn't scared of that however. He was just scared of Hamuko dying. If somehow, by some cruel twist of fate, she died… he would have no idea what to do. There were many things that he could do, but he doubted that he could live without her in his life.

He wasn't only scared of Hamuko dying. Minato was also scared of him dying. If he died, he had no idea how Hamuko would handle it. It was something of a huge worry for him; because if she died because of him too, he could never forgive himself for it.

"Just get some sleep," Hamuko took Minato's hand, grasping it tightly within her grip.

Minato blinked once or twice before he nodded. If he had the choice, he wouldn't have gone to sleep at all. He wanted to watch over Hamuko; make sure that she was safe. But Hamuko asked, so it was okay, right?

"Alright," Minato mumbled.

There were many more things going on at the same time, even if Minato was only focused on Hamuko in almost every thought. English. They had to learn it, and also… on some insistence… they couldn't stop learning Japanese either.

Minato crawled back into bed, pulling the covers around him tightly. He didn't pull them closer because he was cold. In fact, where they lived now, it was warm. Summer. But he didn't care that it was that warm; he just wanted his parents back. More than anything, he wanted life to go back to normal.

But he knew…

Three.

It was inevitable.

Two.

He hated this fact.

One.

But nothing could be normal anymore.

…

That dread that the both of knew, and committed to memory fell. They had no name for it; the only thing that they knew was that it was during this time that their parents died, and no-one else could ever know. The fact that they were killed in such an otherworldly way meant that no-one knew about it, and never experienced this separate hour.

But when it did now…

Minato woke back up again, but he didn't move. His eyes were wide open, but he didn't move. "Can't sleep Hamuko?" he mumbled as he watched his little sister, imoto, get up with a nervous expression.

"No…" she said, biting her lip.

Minato nodded and got up as well. "I can't either," he said as he wrapped her in a hug.

"Will you stay awake with me?" she asked with an almost pleading voice.

"I will," he replied immediately. "When no-one else can, I will."

Neither Minato nor Hamuko slept with anything in particular. Before everything had just gone completely wrong, they didn't need any toys or anything to hug to give them comfort. But now they did, and the only things that really sufficed were each other.

"Thank you, nii-san," Hamuko smiled ever so slightly.

"Don't thank me for this," Minato said, making Hamuko look up with a curious expression. "I need you as much as you do me."

It was something true. Without Hamuko, Minato probably wouldn't even be there at that point in time. Without Hamuko, Minato was nothing. The same sentiment for Hamuko applied to Minato as well. Without Minato, Hamuko would be near helpless. But they were together now, and it was their sole promise that kept them sane:

'I will protect you and keep you alive until the end of time.'

Eventually, the two of them did fall asleep, and when they started dreaming, they had the strangest of dreams; one that neither of them had ever encountered before, and yet, one that told them that it was no normal dream. If it even was one.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room."

Minato opened his eyes from fairly peaceful sleep, and Hamuko did the same.

Minato blinked once or twice, seeing where they were. They weren't in their room. In fact… where were they? Had they died and gone to heaven or something?

Hamuko looked around the room, finally catching eye contact with a strange dwarf-like man. Wisps of white hair trailed off his near bald head. His eyes appeared to be bloodshot, and large, extravagant black eyebrows adorned them above. Last things that definitely told them that he wasn't anything normal: the eerie grin, and the long nose.

He appeared to be dressed in a black tuxedo with white gloves and all, and was hunched over a small table.

"Velvet Room…?" Minato mumbled as he looked around. The room was indeed, very blue, in fact, just about every inch of it was blue, including the walls and carpet. Behind Igor there appeared to be a closed gate and an erratically moving clock a bit higher up the metal.

"Yes, you are here within what we call the Velvet Room," the dwarf-like man reiterated his words. "My name is Igor."

Minato glanced around, but even as he was looking a way out, something told him that it would be better to calm down and listen to him. He didn't know what exactly, but he thought it had something to do with the blue butterfly that was perched upon the seat that Igor was sitting on.

"Um… I'm Minato," Minato mumbled.

"I'm Hamuko," his sister said quietly.

She too didn't know what was happening at the moment. If this was some weird dream, then it was certainly the weirdest dream that she had ever encountered. What was weirder was that Minato was with her. They couldn't possibly be dreaming the same thing, at the same time, could they?

Igor nodded at that. "Yes, as your contract states," he said.

"Contract?" the siblings said simultaneously.

"Yes, your contract. You see, the Velvet Room is a very special place. It exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It has surely been a long time before we have encountered any new guests that were in need of our help," Igor explained. Minato looked about to ask a question, but it seemed that Igor saw it coming. "You see, only those with a contract can enter this place and be entitled to our services."

"Your contract was that of your silent and unsaid promise."

Hamuko and Minato's eyes widened as they heard. How did they know about that?

"I can see you are surprised. It is no wonder. Well… We have only summoned you within your dreams to give you this so that you may re-enter this place of your own will," Igor said.

From the endless sky, one solitary key fell right into Minato and Hamuko's lap.

"We will meet again, young guests," Igor bid the two of them farewell before the blue room faded out of both Hamuko and Minato's visions.

When Minato finally opened his eyes, he found that it was a little light out. Something like about nine. At least, that was what he thought. Neither he nor Hamuko were used to the time difference between Japan and Australia yet. It was just two hours difference yet… it was something that could make a big difference.

"Hamuko… you awake?" he groaned as his eyes grew adjusted to the bright sunlight that was pouring in through the windows. Minato wasn't quote used to the intensity of the light either. It was a lot warmer than it was during winter in Japan, and still, a little bit brighter.

Hamuko's eyes fluttered open, and she replied, "I guess so…" before her head dropped once again. She was pretty sleepy still, despite the sleep that she had gotten before. "But I'm still sleepy," she sighed, pulling Minato closer to her.

Minato didn't mind it, and went back to sleep as well for about another hour. The jetlag that the two had from their trip was starting to catch up to them, and it was hitting them pretty hard.

And sure, their relatives were taking care of them pretty well, but Minato and Hamuko never really paid as much attention to what they were saying. After all this time, they still weren't getting over their losses, and it inevitably was going to take a long while. The only times that Minato and Hamuko ever really listened to something was when they were talking to each other. They were near inseparable.

The next day when they went to sleep once more, they dreamt of the Velvet Room again.

"Welcome back," Igor said.

"Um… hi?" Minato said with a small voice.

"Indeed… Now, I believe that the two of you are wondering why you have been called here to this strange place once again?" Igor asked with a knowing tone.

Hamuko and Minato nodded before two people from either sides of the room entered into their lines of sight.

"This is Elizabeth…" Igor said, indicating the blonde-haired girl in what seemed to be an elevator attendant's uniform; a blue dress that matched the shade that was used to colour the room and went down to her knees, same colour boots, gloves and hat. "And this is Theodore," he said finally, gesturing to the man next to him. He seemed to be dressed in the same themed clothes as the so named Elizabeth, with a blue bellboy outfit instead with a similar hat to Elizabeth's. There were a few same features between the two of them, namely the pale and fair skin, platinum blonde hair and lastly, and most notably, the striking, golden eyes.

"Pleased to meet the two of you," the two attendants bowed, smiling at the two children.

"Master Minato," Elizabeth tilted her head slightly and closed her eyes, giving said boy a soft smile.

"Master Hamuko," Theodore nodded a little, also giving Hamuko a smile akin to Elizabeth's.

"Um… hello Elizabeth-san?" Minato said nervously, not really sure what to think of her.

Hamuko had much the same sentiment however she seemed to be warming up a bit faster than Minato. "Hello Theodore-san," Hamuko waved a little.

Elizabeth giggled a little before she said, "Please, do not be so alarmed."

"We are only here to help you, and that is our sole purpose," Theodore explained to the still apprehensive siblings.

"How?" Minato asked, finally saying out loud the most obvious question at the moment.

"You see, the Velvet Room is here to help guests awaken to their powers. Yours are extremely special, given the circumstances in which you made your contract together," Igor said.

"How so?" Hamuko asked with a curious expression as opposed to a more anxious face like Minato's.

"You two house an extremely precious power, that depending on the ways that it is used, can be used to find the truth, to defend the just from evil… or perhaps bring the ultimate end. Not only that, but our master has given you two very special privileges to go along with that power, "Elizabeth smiled as she explained. "The power of the Wild Card."

Theodore had a knowing expression as Minato was going to ask what the Wild Card actually was. "You see, the power of the Wild Card gives you the power to change what we call… Persona."

"Personae are facets of your personality that can be called upon and materialized in order to defend yourself and help you overcome any hardships that come your way," Theodore continued. "It is definitely a tricky thing to have even one of these powerful summons but you as Wild Cards… are able to wield multiple numbers of them."

"How do we call Personae if we really have them like you say?" Minato asked as his gaze bored right into Igor's ever present one.

"You simply have to remember your promise to each other… that should be enough energy to summon one of them," Elizabeth smiled.

Hamuko looked at Minato, and Minato looked back. They might as well try, right?

Minato closed his eyes. He figured that it would probably be easier to summon it, if they really had one, if he had more concentration to back himself up. He remembered his promise to Hamuko, and what he knew what he would do for her and her for him. "I'll protect you," he mumbled as he felt something strange within him filling up his very being. Something cold, yet… filled with power.

Hamuko too closed her eyes, not really sure what she could do. Considering what had happened so far, she was sure that the people in front of her weren't lying. This Persona thing, whatever it was… if she could protect the two of them with it, then she would try and summon it. "I'll protect you," she whispered ever so slightly.

It turned out that they said those very same words at the exact same time, however, to the Velvet Resident's eyes, the normal Persona they would have expected did not appear.

A vicious, primal roar echoed within the halls of the room, and once Minato and Hamuko opened their eyes… it was needless to say that they were shocked.

And scared.

Minato blinked and his eyes widened as he saw that thing floating above the two of them. It was that thing that killed their parents! But this time, Hamuko and Minato knew its name.

"Thanatos."

With just one word, the beast quieted down and settled behind the two of them, his sword ready to defend his vessels. If he had the opportunity, he would surely have cut the two siblings down with no hesitation, but as it was, he simply could not kill them. He had no idea what was holding him back, but something was. Whatever it was, it was annoying. Worse off, he felt like he had to help them even! Death, helping someone like this of all forms? Preposterous.

"You are lucky that you wretched humans are holding me back. Otherwise, I surely would cut you down without any hesitation, Fools," Thanatos growled.

Igor's smile widened, if that was even possible. "Ah, it seems that this being that you two have summoned… it is not a Persona. It is the very personification of a God, the God of Death itself. How mysterious…"

"Quiet, insolent dweller! You shall bow before my sword, foolish being!" Thanatos roared as he brought back his sword and became ready to swing a deadly strike at Igor. However, it seemed that Elizabeth and Theodore, and by extension, Igor seemed merely amused by the whole spectacle. It was truly something unexpected, to have them summon Thanatos on their very first tries. Their destinies would surely prove interesting with this…

"Thanatos," Minato mumbled. "Don't hurt them," he said with a small voice.

Thanatos turned around, growling at one of the half locks to his prison. That was what they were; locks that he simply could not break, for whatever reason. "You dare speak down to me, little mortal!?"

"Shut up!"

Thanatos reeled back when he heard the combinations of their small voices. Minato and Hamuko had stood up by this point, and they glared right into the face of Death itself.

"You won't hurt anyone else!" Hamuko growled, a glint of determination flashing in her scarlet eyes.

"Now bow down and listen to our fucking demands before we bring you back in! Do you want that to happen!? Huh!?" Minato roared, almost like Thanatos had done a few moments ago.

Thanatos so wanted to cut down that little shrimp to size, but there was something that again, locked him down and he simply could not. The other factor that contributed was… Since when did a human of all people, have so much courage? Two human children no less! "Fucking bow down before my feet, otherwise I'll be sure to kick your ass five ways to Sunday you little prick!" Minato growled, a blue glint appearing in his once stately, silver eyes.

Thanatos seemed to be pushed down by an invisible force, and Death itself was finally brought down to his very knees, even seemingly exhausted. "Y-You…" Thanatos snarled before he was tethered to the ground with an invisible rope.

"What!? You gonna try and take me down!? I'd like to see you try!" Minato smirked. The first sign of emotion besides shock was… confidence and anger. "Now, stand down!"

Thanatos yelled as he was brought down to the floor once more, and even through the lifeless holes in his white mask, both Minato and Hamuko could feel the anger and the mere thoughts of insolence riling Thanatos up, even though the Death god knew that he couldn't resist their commands. It was infuriating.

"You children will pay for this insolence, on my very knife I swear!" Thanatos hissed before he disappeared into black mist. "Remember that…!"

"Minato…" Hamuko looked on at her brother as he gazed on at Thanatos' dissolving form with a smirk of utter confidence. "When did you start swearing?" she asked with a giggle.

"Just…" Minato sighed. "Got caught up in the moment I suppose," he laughed a little, rubbing the back of his head.

"Very impressive… I wouldn't have thought that you two would summon one of your most powerful weapons on the very first try that you would try summoning a Persona," Igor chuckled. "Now, I think it would be best if you tried to summon your real Persona. Because unfortunately, that wasn't a Persona."

"I kinda guessed," Minato grinned. "Well, I feel kinda pumped up about this!"

"Persona!" Minato shouted.

Blue mist started pouring out from below his feet, and within a few moments, a teal robotic man materialized from the blue shards of glass that were flying around Minato. "Orpheus!" he smirked. Minato glanced at Hamuko, silently telling her to do the same.

Hamuko looked on amazed, and finally feeling the determination and excitement fuelling the SP that flowed around her small form… she called, "Persona!"

Within a shattering of glass, a similar gold being to Orpheus appeared behind her. "Eurydice!" she smiled as her initial Persona was summoned.

Minato looked up at Hamuko's new Persona, his lips upturned ever so slightly as he laid his eyes on Eurydice. He couldn't help but think that she looked really… pretty. "We did it?" he mumbled.

"Yes… you summoned your very first Personae," Elizabeth smiled, looking on at the musicians, Orpheus and Eurydice.

* * *

**AN: Aaaand I'm back. Don't you LOVE quick updates? I just feel on fire with all the writing I've been doing, I hope I don't burn out anytime soon! So, please review and box me your thoughts, and hope you enjoy the chapter! **

**It's much different to any kind of Velvet Room summoning, isn't it? I'll explain more as the story goes on, because next chapter is gonna be back to Iwatodai and to school.**

**Imma catch ya guys later!**

**Yoshikunitsu: Haha, I love writing about these characters too! All of them!  
We already have another change too: Thanatos isn't any old Persona, and imma... emphasize that a bit more. I have things planned for our favourite Death God... hehe. Ah, I love it when I go off on tangents...  
Yes, Hamuko's going to get about half of the spot light this time, so look forward to that!  
Thanks, I surely will!**

**Raidou: Yeah, I love doing that kinda thing. Tension is important in a story where the bonds with other characters just pretty much MAKE the story great.  
Thanks! I sure will.**

**Irie: They'll come eventually. These kinda relationships should be taken slowly, so it might not be until a while unless I force it. Which I kinda don't want to do.**

**Nights: Haha, well now you might know a little more about why he cusses when he's fighting Shadows.  
I know. We'll be back to our usual program next chapter. This was some back story, because I loooove back story.  
Maybe later, when he gets REALLY riled up.  
I know, fluff awaits! But as always, later on.**


	5. Introduction To Life

When Minato and Hamuko were roused from their sleep, they found themselves in a very, very familiar dream. Blue, blue… and more blue. The Velvet Room. It had surely been a while since the two of them had been summoned to the Velvet Room in their dreams. They didn't really have a need to, but now… the two of them had no idea where the portal to the Velvet Room in Iwatodai was.

"Welcome back, esteemed guests," Igor greeted them as always. "I will get through this quickly. I remember that the last time I took so long to explain, unfortunately, master Minato had threatened to tear off my nose."

Minato flinched and chuckled nervously at that, not really sure what to say. All he did at that moment was rubbing the back of his head. It was a nervous habit of his. Whenever he was a bit nervous or embarrassed, he rubbed the back of his head. Strange to be sure, but that's what happened. He had never been able to rid himself of that habit.

"Haha… sorry Igor just… I…" Minato started only to be cut off by Hamuko.

"You got caught up in the moment, I think we all knew that was coming next nii-san," Hamuko sighed. Minato laughed awkwardly before falling silent, knowing that there was simply no way that he could argue with his sister. It was one of his weaknesses in fact. While he worked together with Hamuko exceptionally well with how long they had been fighting against Shadows together and learning each other's patterns when they fought… she was still his greatest weakness too. Not in the way of her being a weak spot in battle, but in a way that meant that he would always lose against her when they sparred, even though Minato was the brute strength involved in many attacks against various Shadows.

"Quite… I know. Now, I will cut straight to this chase," Igor nodded. "You see, you two have been summoned here as you two have reached what we could call… the pinnacle of all challenges that the two of you can face. So far, you have battled multiple times against Shadows, and vanquished them all soundly. However… this year will be different; not only in the way of opponents and preparation, but because this is the place where you will also find the truth that you two have sought for so very long."

"Shadows will be coming your way. That is true. However… there is something else at stake," Theodore smiled. He and his sister knew better than anyone that they were fully capable of handling themselves; they were indeed remarkably strong guests. They were the strongest guests that they ever had the pleasures of facing in battle.

"First, a new job that you will need to address will open its doors to the two of you. Second of all, you will face greater challenges than ever before; stronger than you might think. This will become apparent to you as the year goes on, I'm sure…" Elizabeth explained.

"What's this job?" Minato asked with a smirk. He was always in need of a good challenge. He had grown accustomed to the ways of battle, even going so far to enjoy himself while he participated. And it wasn't just because he could take the opportunity to kill more of those Shadows that he affectionately (or not so affectionately) called pricks or pieces of shit.

"You are to take up the mantle… of the Reaper," Elizabeth answered.

"Reaper?" Hamuko asked.

"Yes. The Reaper originally patrolled the depths of a place that you might know as… Tartarus. Hell itself," Igor explained.

"Tartarus, Greek hell huh?" Minato muttered. "What's he doing now?"

"Put it simply…" Theodore said. "He has become bored of his original duties. Had there not been any really powerful beings to take his place, he probably wouldn't have even suggested it."

"However, it seems that by some recommendation by someone you know… he will pass onto you two the mantle of the Reaper," Elizabeth giggled.

Minato and Hamuko's eyes widened. They couldn't have possibly imagined that he, of all people, would do that for them and actually deem the two of them worthy.

"He actually accepted us and he thinks that we might be worthy of the mantle of the Reaper?" Minato asked with a confident grin.

"Precisely. This is an action that so far… has been unprecedented," Igor laughed a little. "No God has ever done this before."

"I guess we have someone to thank then," Hamuko smiled.

"Indeed," Igor smiled. "Well, any assistance that you need shall be provided as always, once you find the portal to the Velvet Room. Farewell, young guests," he began to wave, the attendants also doing the same.

Once Hamuko woke up for real this time, she was greeted by a knock on her door. It was sunny. Morning. Great. Mornings were nice. "Hello? Are you up yet?" she heard. It took a moment for Hamuko to process it, but she finally recognised the voice as Yukari's.

"Yeah, I'll be up in a bit!" Hamuko called back as she calmly lifted herself from bed and got herself ready and presentable for the day ahead. Even if it was a different country, school was still abound, like it always was.

She finally opened the door, seeing Yukari in the frame. "Sorry I took so long," Hamuko apologized as she slipped the pins that made up the Roman numerals for twenty two into her hair.

"No, it's okay. I just don't want you guys to be late for your first day of school and all. Did you get some decent rest?" Yukari asked.

"Uh yeah, it was okay. I doubt you'll be able to say the same for my brother though…" Hamuko sighed.

"Why?" Yukari asked.

"Because… he's not a morning person," she answered simply. "He really likes his sleep," Hamuko explained. "In fact, let me wake him up when we go down. I don't want you to get shouted at or anything!"

"Oh, you'd do that? Really?" Yukari asked with a small smile. It seemed to be one of the appreciative kind.

"Yeah, sure!" Hamuko smiled.

The two of them made their ways downstairs, and without even batting an eye, Hamuko opened the door and shouted, "Get the fuck up before I splash the damned coffee on you!"

Minato's eyes widened and he scrambled out of bed, fully alert. "Where's the coffee!?" he yelled before his eyes finally landed on Hamuko's. "Oh. Uh good morning…" Minato said awkwardly. "Um… I'll go get changed…" he said sheepishly.

Hamuko walked out of the room satisfied before she turned to Yukari who seemed to have a dumbstruck expression on her face. She never would've imagined Hamuko to be able to swear like she did just then. It simply didn't seem to… fit her. "That sounded… violent," Yukari said nervously.

"Yeah, I know. I think it should be something of a thing while we're still staying here, but maybe you should get me to wake up Minato before he lashes out at you," Hamuko sighed.

"Just asking, but why you?" Yukari asked slowly, not really sure where she was treading with her words.

The door clicked open and Minato seemed to finally be ready for school, poker face and all. "Because if it isn't someone I know well, I tend to get pretty violent if someone else wakes me up," Minato answered with a blank face.

"Oh. I see…" Yukari said unsurely.

Minato nodded before putting on one of his earphones. "Yeah, so… like Hamuko said, better to leave it to her. I'm not gonna hold anything back on the unfortunate sap that has to wake me at the boy's dorm," he chuckled before smirking. The confident kind, not the scary kind this time.

Yukari's eyes widened at that smirk of his. There was something about it that seemed like… he was so sure of himself, and so full of confidence that it was near conceit even. There was something about it that… made her feel like if anything had happened at that moment, he would have been ready for it and he would have been able to take it head on without any problems. It was a strange feeling, but she decided that she liked it.

"Well, we should get going," Minato finally said with his hands behind his head as he walked. As it was, the very mention of coffee got him up and running, but it didn't get any of his energy back. Most certainly, he became much more alert, but he was still tired. "I'm not looking to get left behind by a train or something. Lord knows those public transport things are annoying as all heck. I've had enough of delays."

And it was true. Seeing that Minato and Hamuko lived around just west of Sydney, they had to deal with Cityrail's simply… awful timetable changes. Something or other would hold them up once in a while, be it rain, unexpected structure destruction or even a death on the rail way tracks. And then they would have to deal with the aftermath of all of it, mostly meaning that the trains that they could catch could be delayed by some fifteen minutes or other. Could be worse, but they still didn't like dealing with those changes regardless.

"Even though you were the delay this time…?" Hamuko muttered.

"We better catch up with him…" Yukari said.

"Yup, probably best," Hamuko said before she skipped off happily to join Minato. Thankfully, when he wanted to be, he could be very slow with his walking pace.

The monorail that led to the actual port island wasn't as packed as Minato or Hamuko thought it would be, but they didn't mind. Yukari and the two siblings spoke a little about things at school such as the clubs that they could join, though the conversation was mostly led by Hamuko and Yukari, with Minato interjecting at certain points to add his two cents to the conversation.

However, conversation stopped once Yukari caught a glimpse of her absolute favourite curve on the monorail track. "Oh I love this part! It feels just like you're gliding over the ocean when I see it," Yukari said wistfully.

Hamuko agreed, saying that it looked beautiful with the glistening ocean in the distance.

However, Minato stood emotionless as ever when he looked over the view. That was because he caught a glimpse of something that he would sooner forget, but something that was absolutely essential to his survival. Without it, he and Hamuko wouldn't have lost their innocence so early, and their parents would still be alive. His expression soon turned to that of a scowl as he started to recollect it all, and he was desperately trying to keep his anger down.

"Is he alright Hamuko?" Yukari asked with a worried expression.

"…I don't think so," she said honestly as she looked at the trembling form of her brother.

"Why's that?" Yukari continued.

Hamuko looked back at her before sighing, "Well, we did use to live at Iwatodai about ten years ago. But we had to leave because something really bad happened at the bridge over there, which is in near plain sight right about now…"

Yukari's eyes widened a little as she came to a very likely conclusion. "I see… I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-" she started but was soon cut off.

"Forget it. It's nothing that you need to know about," Minato growled under his breath, even though he was trying not to sound angry, it was almost inevitable that he would. That's what he had learnt when he became angry…

Yukari was surprised by the change of tone by Minato, and she wasn't quite sure what to think of it, except, that like what Hamuko said… he was frightening with that tone of his.

The ride was filled with an awkward moment of silence before Minato spoke up again. "S-Sorry, I just… It's not something I want to remember," he mumbled. Minato stared at the ground, lowering his head, nearly in shame.

"N-No, it's okay, I shouldn't have pried into that," Yukari said quickly.

"It's fine," Minato finally said after some deliberation, choosing to shrug it all off for now and keep his reactions and thoughts quiet; like he usually did. He wasn't used to it. He wasn't used to opening up to anyone. Especially someone that he didn't know as well.

"Just let him think, he'll get over it later," Hamuko sighed. She knew that he would, even if it did take a few minutes before he went back to normal. "Anyways…"

Yukari and Hamuko finally jumped to another topic and they kept talking together once they had gotten back into the swing of things. All the way until the end of the monorail ride, Minato had kept silent.

He cursed himself continually for what happened when he snapped. That wasn't supposed to happen. He let his anger get the better of him, again. It was something that he was used to, sure. However, that didn't mean that he had to like it. In fact, he hated how angry he could be and how angry that he could sound when he thought about the whole incident, reliving the memory several times within his own mind, as if he were trapped in his own personal theatre that only played one movie on repeat.

"Well, we're here," Yukari said when they reached the gates to their new school. "Welcome to Gekkoukan High School! Hope you like it!"

Minato had half a mind to say that school was always a pain, but he kept his thoughts zipped up again. Remember what happened the last time?

"Wow, it looks beautiful," Hamuko smiled. "It looks so much better than the schools in Australia," she laughed a little.

Minato looked up around the cherry blossoms, and even he had to admit, of all people, that it was more attractive than the school that the two of them had to go to before.

"Really? I haven't been there, so I wouldn't know the difference," Yukari giggled as they finally continued walking through the gates.

"Well… they're kinda drab compared to the ones here," Minato said quietly, finally finding the will to keep his voice under control.

As Hamuko had predicted, he was back to normal again. Fairly, anyways.

"Oh, I see. Guess they haven't got cherry blossoms huh," Yukari smiled a little as a petal from the cherry blossom flowers landed on Minato's nose as he looked around.

"…okay, I wasn't expecting that one," he mumbled as he stared almost cross-eyed at the pink petal. That is, before he picked it off and let it go. "But yeah… they don't have any. They aren't exactly native to the place," Minato explained further as they entered the building.

"I can see that happening…" Yukari nodded as they stepped into the lobby.

"Well, I guess this is where I'll leave you guys… the faculty office is that way," Yukari said, indicating the hallway to the left. "And the stairs to the classrooms are there," she said last, pointing to the staircase next to the canteen.

"So, any questions in particular?" Yukari asked.

Minato and Hamuko looked at each other before the younger of the two said, "Nah, I think we're cool. Thanks a lot Yukari!"

The pink wearing girl smiled and replied, "It's no problem! Well, I'll see you guys a bit later. First day of school, it's gonna be one of those boring assemblies again, like every other year…"

"Oh. That sucks," Hamuko sighed. "They sound really boring…" she muttered.

"That aside… I think we should get going. We're making a bit of a spectacle," Minato mumbled, making the two other girls look around.

"Ooh, I think so too. Well, see ya guys!" Yukari smiled before she walked towards the bulletin boards.

"Faculty office?" Hamuko asked.

"Faculty office," Minato sighed.

* * *

**AN: I know, pumping these chapters out real fast. I dunno, I like it, and I'm enjoying myself right now. I can't wait to get to the really exciting bits with the deviations from the story and the fights, the fluff... Anyways. Recomposing myself right now. Plz box me your thoughts.**

**Imma see ya guys later.**

**Nights: Haha, thanks man.**

**Raidou: Brother and sister moments are going to be everywhere, I can assure you of that. Thanks, I'll do my best.**

**Yoshikunitsu: Yeah, fluff's awesome. But only in small doses. Is it possible to die from being exposed to too much fluff?  
Yup. It starts now, with this dream. The purpose of NTL was so I could have a story where Minato wouldn't die. This time is the same... so, it starts with the gods, and we're starting high in levels.  
I'm glad people are liking the stuff I'm putting out as always. And sure! Always will, otherwise these chapters wouldn't come to be!**


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